


Bringing Up Brock

by musikurt



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: M/M, domestic life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-11
Updated: 2012-11-11
Packaged: 2017-11-18 10:07:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/559799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/musikurt/pseuds/musikurt
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Derek is a bit nervous about taking this next step in his relationship with Stiles.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bringing Up Brock

Derek tried to stop himself pacing through the house. He was anxiously awaiting Stiles's return, and the quiet house was not helping him to settle his nerves. He'd tried listening to music, reading a book, and even working out. He settled for allowing himself to make one full lap of the main floor every ten minutes, stopping in the kitchen to refill his coffee mug.

He would have gone along with Stiles, but he was expecting a phone call for work. That was a new concept. Before he had always been a free spirit - no one to worry about but himself. But since he'd allowed Stiles to move in, he knew that things would be changing. He was partly responsible for Stiles now and he was sharing his house. Stiles had helped him with the renovation, so he had a hand in making parts of it his own, but there were still days when Derek missed the complete silence of living alone. This afternoon was certainly not one of them.

Derek allowed himself to wander up the stairs and toward the door at the end of the hallway. When Stiles had first asked him about making this new addition to his home, Derek's initial reaction was to say "No." The excitement in Stiles's eyes and the bright smile on his face, however, had made it very difficult for him to do so. He couldn't deny Stiles the joy and satisfaction - and there was something reassuring in how Stiles had presented the idea to him. Derek felt many of his concerns fade as he looked into Stiles's eyes and said "Yes." The next morning, however, they had all returned, but it was too late to go back on his promise.

When they had gone to fill out the paperwork, Derek learned that it could take as long as a year before everything was approved. He felt like that would be more than enough time to answer the questions he was wrestling with and to make himself be completely okay with the idea. When Stiles put his arm around him after the signed the last page, there was a happiness and warmth he had never felt from anyone ever before.

It was a complete shock to them both when they received a phone call two weeks later letting them know they had been approved. The woman on the other end said that they'd likely be all set within a month. Stiles was, of course, thrilled, while Derek actually considered running away for a moment. Stiles had already cleared out the spare room at the end of the hall, so the next two weeks were spent recarpeting the floor, repainting the walls, and shopping for furniture. Derek had busied himself with assembling things as a way to get his mind off the reality of the situation - an irony considering it meant the facts were staring him in the face the entire time.

He poked his head into the room and smiled weakly. They had done a fantastic job with everything. The sun was shining in on the crib in the corner - one Stiles had specially picked out and repainted. Along the opposite wall was a small wooden trunk of plush toys. Derek had just installed a musical mobile on the ceiling earlier that morning. He closed the door and ran his hand across the block wooden letters Stiles had attached the night before. This was indeed really happening.

Derek remembered the letter that had arrived making everything official:

_Dear Mr. Hale & Mr. Stilinski,_

_We are pleased to inform your application for adoption of **Brock, age 16 months** has been approved._

Despite his reservations, even Derek had been excited at the opening of the envelope. He had been with Stiles to visit Brock once during the time between the approval of their initial application and the assignment of an adoptee. He seemed very happy and bright for his age. Stiles was immediately taken with the young boy and he seemed to respond very well to both of them. It was thinking of the smiling faces - both Stiles's and Brock's - that always seemed to calm Derek's anxiety about adding another person to their family.

Brock's parents had died in an auto accident a few months prior. Stiles had taken this as a sign that he was the right son for the two of them. They had both lost parents and other family members at a young age (though not quite as young as Brock) and he felt they could not only provide a loving home, but the unique kind of support he would need growing up. Derek admired Stiles for making that observation and recalled tears in both of their eyes as they had discussed it.

Derek walked back down the stairs and sat on the sofa. He spied the paperwork that had arrived the day before in the mail. Stiles had insisted that Brock take Derek's last name, because he intended to do the same whenever they got married. The word had caused another flutter of panic in Derek's chest, but he realized it only made sense. He planned to be with Stiles for 'the long haul' as Sheriff Stilinski had said when Stiles was moving in. And this fact was further evidenced by the fact that they were now adopting a son.

Derek's pacing brought him to the kitchen. He had put away the groceries that Stiles had picked up earlier in the day. Seeing all of the food for the baby didn't exactly calm his nerves, but it had been something mindless and repetitive. He was able to let his mind go somewhere else in the process.

Earlier in the week, he had started to wonder if he should be concerned about his nervousness. He'd mentioned it to Stiles a few times, who simply insisted it was normal and it would subside once Brock was at home with them. Somehow, he didn't think he could count on that. He'd gone to visit his parents' graves, hoping it might help him find some wisdom, but none came. He finally broke down and went to Sheriff Stilinski for advice. The sheriff had been great about it and told him of his own bout with nervousness when Mrs. Stilinski was pregnant with Stiles. He explained to Derek that the nerves never completely go away, but it's important to not let them get they in the way of being a good parent. Sheriff Stilinski assured him that by working together with Stiles, the should be able to get through anything. 'Parenting is a partnership,' ther sheriff had said. Derek hesitated then, wondering about how Stiles's father dealt with continuing to parent after Mrs. Stilinski died.

It suddenly occurred to Derek how important it might be to Stiles that Brock had two engaged and active parents. He couldn't let his fears and doubts cause him to detach to the point that Stiles was really the primary - or only - parent to their son. He had faced so much in the past with a courage that was beyond what so many others even dreamed. And yet, here he was. He chuckled as he walked toward the front door. He'd heard his car in the driveway. Stiles couldn't take the Jeep because it didn't have a proper backseat.

Derek smiled as he watched Stiles retrieve the car seat from the back of his car and carry it toward the house.

"Here he is," Stiles was beaming as Derek held open the door. He looked down at him as Stiles passed by.

"He's perfect," Derek replied with a smile almost as big as the one on Stiles's face. "Little Brock Stiles Hale."

"Was that the final choice for the middle name?" Stiles turned look at him as he set the car seat on the sofa.

"Figured he should have a name from each of us, no?" Derek grinned. 

Stiles walked over and gave him a kiss. "I love you."

"Love you, too," Derek whispered before taking a seat next to their new son.


End file.
